Heating, drying, and sterilizing cabinet



Nov. 7, 1939. w. GILL 2.179.256

HEATING, DRYING, AND STERILIZING CABINET Filed Oct. 14, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 "HHIIIIIHI...

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Nov. 7, 1939. w. 1.. GILL HEATING, DRYING, AND STERILIZING CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 14, 1936 waltcrl. GL'LL,

Patented Nov. 7, 1939 v PATENT OFFICE- HEATING, DRYING,

CABINE AlvlrD STERILIZING Walter Lawrence Gill, Badlands, Calif. Application October 14, 1936, Serial No. 105,596

2' Claims.

This invention relates to heating, drying and sterilizing cabinets for towels and the like, adapted for use in hospitals, barber shops, beauty parlors and the like, as well as in private homes. The cabinet of the present invention has the same general purpose as that illustrated in my co-pending application, Serial No. 726,374, filed May 18, 1934, in the names of Volney C. Kincaid, and myself, Patent No. 2,060,065, November 10, 1936.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a cabinet having a plurality of shelves and means for individually heating said shelves, with either a low, medium or high degree of heat, and to accomplish this result through the medium of a structure which may be economically and cheaply manufactured, will be suitably insulated against the loss of heat, will present a pleasing appearance and constitute an attractive article of furniture,. and which may, if desired, in addition provide means for circulating either warm or cool air in the bathroom, nursery, or other room in which the cabinet may be located.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention, chosen merely for purposes of explanation:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a cabinet constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation with the door removed;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating medium and low heating units arranged in a continuous series to traverse the under sides of the several shelves, as hereafter set forth, and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a modified form embodying a fan for aiding in the circulation of air.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 5 designates the outer shell of the cabinet, the forward side of which is provided with a doorway. The material of the outer shell 5 is turned inwardly, as indicated at 6. An inner shell I is attached at its forward edge to the intumed portions 6 by suitable fastening devicesv 8. A door 9, provided with an ornamental handle l0, such for example as those commonly employed in refri erators and the like, closes the forward side of the cabinet, being hinged as indicated at II.

It will be observed that the construction described provides a double-walled cabinet, with a space l2 between the inner and outer shells. This space may be utilized to effect suitable heat insulation of the cabinet, by lining the interior of the outer shell with a sheet of heatreflectant, insulating material I3 such as rock wool, or the like. The door may likewise be suitably insulated, in a manner common to refrigerator construction.

It will readily be understood that the exterior of the inner shell may carry a sheet of heatreflecting insulation, such as aluminum foil or the like, either in lieu of that carried by the outer shell or in addition thereto.

The inner shell (which defines the internal dimensions of the cabinet) is laterally spanned by a plurality of shelves l4, and these shelvesare preferably provided with down-turned edges i5. The shelves are of such width as to be slightly spaced from the rear wall of the cabinet, as indicated at X, and to be slightly spaced from the inner face of the door when the door is closed, as indicated at Z. Thus, air may circulate within the cabinet.

Vents for the passage of air are provided by a row of openings l6, beneath the lowermost shelf and above the bottom of the cabinet, and by another row of openings l1, between the uppermost shelf and the top of the cabinet, these openings passing through the walls of both the inner and outer shells and the sheet of insulating material I3. If desired, tubes or thimbles l8 may be provided to span the space between the shells and to provide passageways for the exterior air. The natural tendency of the heated air to rise would cause the entry of air through tubes i6 and the discharge of such air through openings l'l.

The several shelves carry sheet metal wiring ducts I9 upon their under sides, and the bottom of the cabinet likewise carries a sheet metal wiring duct 20 upon its under side. A switch plate 2|, carrying switches 22 and 23, is secured at the side of the cabinet. The wiring, indicated in Fig. 6, consists of the double leads 24 and 25, which at one of their ends are connected to one of the main leads 26 of a l10-volt supply circuit.

These two leads 24 and 25 are continued-in zigzag fashion and in series between the several shelves and through the ducts beneath said shelves, as indicated in Fig. 6, where the dotted lines H represent the several shelves and the dotted line B represents the bottom of the cabinet.

The lead 24 constitutes a ..medium" heating element; while the lead 25 constitutes a low heating Element, and the terminal ends of these heating elements are connected respectively to one of the sides of the low and "medium switches 23 and 22. The other sides of these switches are connected to the other side of the 110-volt supply, indicated at 21.

Thus, if only switch 23 be closed, only a low degree of heat will be supplied to the under sides of the several shelves. If only switch 22 be closed, then a medium degree of heat will be applied to the under sides of the several shelves, while if both of the switches be closed, then the combined effect will produce a correspondingly high degree of heat upon the under sides of the shelves.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 7, the cabinet is substantially like that already described, except that a fan casing 28 is mounted upon the wall of the cabinet and car ries an electric fan 29, driven in a common way by an electric motor 30. The fan casing carries vanes 3|, in a manner common in small automobile heaters and the like.

With the heat turned oil. in the cabinet, the fan may be used merely to circulate room temperature air in the way common to the usual electric fan, while if the heat be turned on in the cabinet, then the fan may be utilized to circulate warmair to aid in warming a bathroom or other place in which the cabinet may be located.

, This cabinet, which I term the Desertaire because it provides an ample supply of hot, dry air, provides an economical and elficient means for heating fabrics such as clothing, towels, garments and the like. The fabrics come in direct contact with the shelf, which is directly heated by the heating element. The fabrics are also exposed to the heat from the upper portion of their several compartments, 1. e., from the overlying shelf containing another electrical element. This provides heat at the top and bottom of the fabrics simultaneously.

Fabrics consisting of towels, garments, etc., have a tendency to highly resist heat. Therefore, in order to completely and efficiently heat a large stack of cloth, heat temperatures sufficient to entirely penetrate the fabrics would probably result in the burning or scorching of the fabrics closest to the heating element.

My multi-shelf arrangement permits the use of smaller stacks and the use of lower temperatures for thoroughly heating fabrics. When the heating element is turned on, it has a tendency to take in new air through the bottom vents and discharge air through the top vents. By using an inner cabinet comprising shelves forming compartments, and by the use of an outer cabinet surrounding the inner cabinet, I create a chamber which permits installing and completely enclosing the electrical heating elements and thus provides safety for the users.

This chamber further provides additional efiiciency for the retaining of the heat in the inner cabinet. The multi-shelf assembly provides economy in the operation of the unit by permitting the use of low wattage heating elements, threaded from one shelf to the other throughout the cabinet. The direct contact of the low wattage element with each metal shelf has a tendency to heat the shelf to approximately the same temperature as the heating element itself; thus the fabrics which are in direct contact with the shelf consume the major portion of the heat with less loss caused by penetration.

The use of low wattage heating element also insures longer life of the heating element, thus providing additional economy. In onemodel of my Desertaire multi-shelf construction, the low heating element operates at approximately 20 watts, the medium heating element operates at approximately 35 watts, and by combining the two for our high temperature, the total is 55 watts. With a high element of 55 watts, the temperatures in this cabinet will exceed 200 Fahrenheit. Thus, it is consuming less wattage and costing less to operate than one average electric lamp used in the home.

It will be apparent that many ways will readily suggest themselves to the skilled engineer, for bringing about changes in construction without departing from the principles involved. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention includes within its purview whatever changes fairly come within either the terms or the spirit of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In combination, a hollow-walled cabinet, shelves laterally spanning the same, and spaced at their longer edges from the walls of said cabinets, ducts extending longitudinally of the shelves upon the under sides thereof, heating elements arranged in series and threaded through said ducts, the conductors of said heating. elements passing between inner and outer walls of the cabinet in their passage between the shelves and door like means through which articles to be dried may be introduced into the spaces between and placed upon said shelves.

2. A device for drying towels and like small fabric articles comprising a cabinet consisting of top, bottom, back and double end walls, substantially the entire front of the cabinet being closed by a door, a plurality of horizontally disposed shelves spaced one above the other and supported from the end Walls of the cabinet, the rear edges of said shelves being spaced from the rear wall of said cabinet and the front edges of said shelves being spaced from the door when the door is-closed, to thereby permit the circulation of air from top to bottom of the cabinet past both sides of said shelves, conduits extending longitudinally along the under sides of said shelves of a nature to permit heat to be radiated downwardly upon the tops of articles supported upon the shelf next below, electric heating elements extending longitudinally through said con-v duits and connected in series at the ends of said shelves, means for introducing atmospheric air below the lowermost shelf and means for conducting air from the cabinet from a point above the uppermost shelf the connections between the heating elements of the several shelves being carried through the space between the said double end walls at the ends of said shelves.

WALTER LAWRENCE GILL. 

